This document describes several species of babbler birds found across Asia and India. It provides details on the appearance, habitat, range and subspecies of the spot-throated babbler, marsh babbler, puff-throated babbler, brown capped babbler, Abbott's babbler, buff-breasted babbler, large scimitar babbler, and spot-breasted scimitar babbler. These babblers generally live in forested areas across South and Southeast Asia, foraging on the forest floor and having various markings and calls depending on the specific species and subspecies.
2. Spot Throtted
Babbler
The spot-throated
babbler (Pellorneum
albiventre) is a species
of bird in
the Pellorneidae family. It
is found mainly in
Eastern Bangladesh, Bhuta
n, Northeast
India, Yunnan, Myanmar a
nd Vietnam.
Its natural habitats are
subtropical or tropical
moist lowland forests and
subtropical or tropical
moist montane forests.
3. Marsh Babbler
The marsh
babbler (Pellorneum
palustre) is a member of
the Pellorneidae family.
The marsh babbler is
endemic to
the Brahmaputrafloodplain
, its associated tributaries
and adjacent hill ranges
in Assam, Arunachal
Pradesh and Meghalaya in
India and
eastern Bangladesh.
4. Puff Throated
Babbler
The puff-throated
babbler or spotted
babbler (Pellorneum ruficeps) is a
species of passerine bird found in
Asia. They are found in scrub and
moist forest mainly in hilly
regions. They forage in small
groups on the forest floor, turning
around leaf litter to find their
prey and usually staying low in
the undergrowth where they can
be hard to spot. They however
have loud and distinct calls,
including a morning song, contact
and alarm calls. It is the type
species of
the genus Pellorneum which may
however currently include
multiple lineages.
5. Puff-throated babblers are brown above, and
white below with heavily brown streaks
towards the breast and belly. They have a
chestnut crown, long buff supercilium and
dusky cheeks. The throat is white, and is
sometimes puffed out giving it
the English name. Puff-throated babblers have
strong legs, and spend a lot of time on the
forest floor. They can often be seen creeping
through undergrowth in search of their insect
food, looking at first glance like a song thrush.
Some subspecies have streaks on the mantle
while others, especially in Peninsular India, are
unstreaked.[
7. The widespread distribution with population
variations has led to nearly thirty subspecies
being described. The nominate population is
found in peninsular India (excluding the
Western Ghats). The population in the
northern Eastern Ghats is paler and has been
called as pallidum while a well marked dark
form occurs in the southern Western Ghats
which has been
named granti (includes olivaceum). The
western Himalayas population
is punctatum (includes jonesi) and in the east
is mandellii which has streaking on the back
and nape apart from having call differences. In
the east of India, south of the Brahmaputra
River occurs chamelum while ripley is found in
a small region in eastern Assam (Margherita).
Further east in Manipur
is vocale and pectorale in Arunachal Pradesh
8. and northern Burma with stageri further
south, followed
by hilarum, victoriae and minus. Further east
are found shanense,
subochraceum,insularum, indistinctum, chtoni
um, elbeli, acrum, oreum, dusiti, vividum, ubo
nense, euroum, deignani, dilloni and smithi.
Several others have been described and many
populations are difficult to assign to
subspecies.[3] This is the type species for the
genus Pellorneum and its generic placement is
assured although other species currently
included in the genus may be reassigned
9. Brown Capped babbler
The brown-capped babbler
measures 16 cm including its
long tail. It is brown above
and rich cinnamon below. It
has a dark brown crown.
Brown-capped babblers have
short dark bills. Their food is
mainly insects. They can be
difficult to observe in the
dense vegetation they prefer,
but like other babblers, these
are noisy birds, and their
characteristic calls are often
the best indication that these
birds are present.
10. Abbots Babbler
Abbott's
babbler (Malacocincla
abbotti) is a species
of bird in the
family Pellorneidae. It is
widely distributed along
the Himalayas in South
Asia and extending into the
forests of Southeast Asia.
They are short-tailed and
stout birds which forage in
pairs in dense
undergrowth close to the
ground and their
presences is indicated by
their distinctive calls.
11. The adult Abbott's babbler is a nondescript
brown, short-tailed babbler that moves about
in the low vegetation often near streams and
in the vicinity of tree ferns and tangled
vegetation. The throat is greyish white while
the center of the belly is white and the flanks
are olive. The undertail coverts are rusty. The
sexes are alike. It has a short tail and heavy bill;
it is drab olive-brown with bright rusty lower
flanks and vent, a greyish-white throat and
breast and variable pale grey supercilium and
lores. Juvenile birds have dark rufescent-brown
crowns and upperparts. The subspecies M. a.
krishnarajuiof the Eastern Ghats has a darker
russet tail and rump than the
Himalayan nominate subspecies. Specimens
measure 12–13 cm (4.7–5.1 in) in length, with
a head of 39–44 mm (1.5–1.7 in) and tail of
55–61 mm (2.2–2.4 in). The calls are distinctive
13. Buff Breasted
Babbler
The buff-breasted
babbler (Pellorneum
tickelli) is a species
of bird in
the Pellorneidae family. It
is found
in Bangladesh, Cambodia,
China, India, Laos, Malaysi
a, Myanmar, Thailand,
and Vietnam. Its
natural habitats are
subtropical or tropical
moist lowland forests and
subtropical or tropical
moist montane forests.
14. Large Scimitar
Babbler
The large scimitar
babbler (Pomatorhinus
hypoleucos) is a species
of bird in
the Timaliidae family. It is
found
in Bangladesh, Cambodia,
China, India, Laos, Malaysi
a, Myanmar, Thailand,
and Vietnam. Its
natural habitats are
subtropical or tropical
moist lowland forests and
subtropical or tropical
moist montane forests.
15. Spot Breasted
Scimitar Babbler
The spot-breasted scimitar
babbler (Pomatorhinus
mcclellandi) is a species
of bird in
the Timaliidae family.
It is found in Eastern
Himalaya and
western Myanmar. Its
natural habitats are
subtropical or tropical
moist lowland forests and
subtropical or tropical
moist montane forests.
